Includes bibliographical references.

The security impacts of crisis intervention and structural adjustments -- IFIs and military expenditures -- IFIs and peacebuilding -- Conclusion: hardening soft power.

This paper considers the full range of activities in which the Bretton Woods institutions have become engaged over the past ten years. It explores the conflict-mitigating potential, both direct and indirect, of International Monetary Fund and World Bank interventions, as well as the constitutional and political obstacles that lie in the way of more salutary involvement in security-related activities. The paper argues that while the Bretton Woods institutions must take care not to usurp national governments' military authority or otherwise exceed their mandates, they can still use their economic tools to greater effect to prevent conflict and remedy its negative consequences. In particular, they could do more to encourage broader domestic participation in the formulation of structural adjustment programmes, in order to better balance military and social spending, and entertain a wider range of involvement in peace consolidation efforts.